The Secret Of A Healthy Dad

The Secret Of A Healthy Dad
New Living Translation


Ephesians 6:4 ~nlt~
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them.

Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.

Recently I read of a young man who received an unusual Christmas present. The young boy peeled back the layers of wrapping paper from the tiny box. Inside he found a small, hand-written note from his father. “Son,” it read, “this year I will give you 365 hours, an hour every day after dinner.”

“This simple present became the greatest gift I ever had in my life,” explained the boy as an adult. “My dad not only kept his promise, but every year he renewed it. I am the result of his time.”

One hour after dinner is all it took to change this boy’s life forever. One hour of leading, loving, and learning. It is such a simple idea, an obvious one.

Time for our family is like oxygen to our bodies—there’s a minimum necessary for survival. And it takes quantity as well as quality to develop warm and caring relationships.

What can Dads do?

Determine balanced priorities. Ask God to help you order your life according to his priorities. Think through your promotions. Often promotions come with a corresponding increase in workload and hours. Consider changing jobs. No job is worth sacrificing your spouse or children. Stop gift-wrapping the garbage. In other words, look beyond the attractive “wrappings” of anything that will drive you to perfection and sacrifice valuable time with your family. Slow down and live. For many of us, the pace of our lives is self-imposed. We do have a choice about what we do and the schedule we keep.

A man whose family was so infatuated with time that he could rarely enjoy a quiet moment of reflection said, “My Dad was an expert at hurrying. And he inflicted it on our family. We would hurry to go on vacation, hurry to enjoy it, and hurry to drive home, so we could hurry on to something else!”

The misuse of time might be the most pervasive enemy the healthy family has. Dads, determine to make the most of the time you have with your children.

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Father in heaven, please bless my efforts to pass on a vibrant faith to my children and grandchildren. Help me keep my priorities and my schedule in order so I can fulfill this awesome responsibility and this glorious opportunity with the children that I love. In Jesus' name. Amen and Amen